The Artist’s Magazine – October 2019

6 Artists Magazine October 2019

Prime ANATOMY OF A PAINTING

t

heSphinxofDelft.Thatwasthe

nicknamegiventoJohannes

Vermeer(Dutch,1632–1675)

whenhisworkwasrediscoveredin

the19thcentury,andit stillapplies

today.Wedon’tknowwherehe

learnedtopaint,orwhetherheever

leftDelft,thecityintheNetherlands

inwhichhewasbornanddied.Ifhe

madeanydrawings,theyhaven’t

beenfound,whichonlyheightens

themysteryaroundhisseemingly

perfectpaintings.Conjecturefills

thevacuumcreatedbylackofhard

evidence;thetheoryisthatVermeer

usedthecameraobscuratoaidhis

picture-makingprocess.

It’sa credibletheory,sincethe

alternatingareasofsharpandblurred

focussuggesteffectscreatedbya lens.

Vermeerandhiscontemporarieswere

familiarwiththecameraobscuraand

similartoolsthatcouldprojectimages

ontoa wallorcanvas.Theoverriding

questioniswhetherVermeer,a para-

gonoftheDutchGoldenAgeandone

ofhistory’sgreatvisualpoets,made

tracings.Thatexplanationwould

demystifytheprocessandrender

theartistmoreaccessible—ineffect

decodingthesphinx.Buttakenat

facevalue,thetheorylacksnuance,

andVermeer’spaintingsareperhaps

themostnuancedobjectsinmuseums

today.Hisnarrativesaremoresubtle

thanthoseofhiscolleagues,his

handlingofthematerialmoresophis-

ticated,hissensibilitymorerefined.

Also,hispaintingsdon’tlooklikethe

resultofa mechanicalshortcut;each

elementandeverybrush-

strokeareevidenceofdeliberation.

Manyartistshadaccesstooptical

technologies,butVermeer’sworks—

thefewdozenthatexist—arequite

distinctive.Hisbestpaintings,be

theyofa womaninherkitchen

pouringmilkorofthewaterfrontof

hishometown—takeunremarkable

momentsandmemorializethem

asrevelatoryevents.

JerryN.Weissisa contributingwriter

toartmagazinesandteachesatthe

ArtStudentsLeagueofNewYork.

View of Delft

by Johannes Vermeer

ca 1660-1661; oil on canvas, 38x45½

Beyond Technology

Take a closer look at the mystery of VERMEER

and his masterful work through the View of Delft.

by Jerry N. Weiss

Vermeer’s paintings are perhaps the most

nuanced objects in museums today.

View of Delft is three-

fifths sky, a common

design in 17th-century

Dutch landscape

painting. This may have

been a responsetoa

generally flat landscape,

which enabled artiststo

use cloudscapesfor

dramatic impact, as well

as to evoke spiritual

implications. The clouds

are arranged in several

overlapping horizontal

bands receding toward

the horizon. The nearest

clouds are in shadow,

which lends an ominous,

if passing, note. They

also function muchlike

the sandbar inthe

foreground, providinga

frame for the townscape.

Vermeer painted

Delft under the silver

half-light of the sun.

It’s a mercantile

town seenina

moment of stillness,

with an uncanny

sense of clarity.